ghostbuster

My surgery is confirmed for the 7th. THIS FRIDAY, I am a little scarred. My mom is taking off work to come and help me out and I live with my sister, so all should be really smooth. I am so anxious. Plus, not having work on Monday this will be a 3 day work week for me. The hard part is that I am starting a masters program this week as well. I am only taking 2 classes and one is online. The other is on Tuesdays, so I think I should be feeling well enough to go to class and just sit there on Tuesday the 11th. If not, oh well, I can miss one class.

Oh my, I feel the same way, this liquid diet is about to make me go crazy and I keep having dreams that my sweet little nephews died. Isn't that so weird, somehow facing my own mortality by going into surgery is totally messing up my mind. I really hope that after my surgery and I can eat normal food again (so tired of chocolate, royal chocolate, starwberry, etc) that my brain will relax.

I am getting banded by Dr. Ren in September. So far they have been amazing. I didn't have to do the 6 month diet. I have Empire BlueCross/BlueShield and from the time that I had all of my appointments done and Johanna submitted my file to my insurance company to the day it was done was literally 3 days. They are great and I am so excited for this to finally happen.

That SUCKS! Some insurance companies are the worst!

So I never had to tell my boss what was going on, he has been great about giving me time off for as long as I need. There are a few nosy girls in my office, so to finaly get some of them off my back I said I had to get a cycst removed from my ovary (I know that one of them has cyscts as well so it would make sense to her) it seemed to do the trick. Hopefully this will be the end of the issue at work...somehow I doubt it will...:paranoid:rolleyes

Hey there Sep. bandsters. What does everyone have to do as far as a presurgery liquid diet? I don't have to start mine until thursday, but I wanted to start on a weekend incase it didn't agree with my digestive system. So far, it sucks!:phanvan I don't have a sweet tooth, and all of the protein shakes are chocolate or vanilla or strawberry. I'm trying several kinds to see if there is one I like better, but so far I don't like any of them. The only good thing is that in 2 days I lost 3 pounds. I know I shouldn't weigh myself everyday, but I did, so there it is. I also figured that if I start the liquid diet a week early, I'll have a little wiggle room if I cheat a bit here and there. But seriously, after 2 days, I can tell this is not going to be fun.:car:

I have to take off about 3 hours from work for my pre-surgical check in and work-up. I had gotten in late from meeting with the surgeon and my boss knew I had a "doctor's appointment" so I just told him that I had to have further testing done (the pre-surgical appointment, I'm sure there will be tests) and that the doctor thinks I may need surgery. He didn't ask a single question, he said, that's totally fine, don't worry about work. And that was it. I think he's so scarred that it's "Female issues" he would rather die than know anything more. Also our firm just merged with another and apparently one of the new partners has recently lost a significant amount of weight and he eats so supper healthy and strict, not even cake on his birthday, that everyone is talking about eating healthier. So I'm just going to start talking about eating healthier too. And i'm buying the Nike ipod Nano and I'm going to sign up for a 5K. Since everyone in my office loves ipods that will be fun to talk about and then everyone will think that it's just the exercise. So there is no lying (well flat out lying) and I was surprised at how easy it was to get time off, even though I have taken up all my vacation time this year. Here's to no more beach pictures with a beached whale hiding under the worlds biggest beach towel and a t-shirt!:clap2:

I have to take off about 3 hours from work for my pre-surgical check in and work-up. I had gotten in late from meeting with the surgeon and my boss knew I had a "doctor's appointment" so I just told him that I had to have further testing done (the pre-surgical appointment, I'm sure there will be tests) and that the doctor thinks I may need surgery. He didn't ask a single question, he said, that's totally fine, don't worry about work. And that was it. I think he's so scarred that it's "Female issues" he would rather die than know anything more. Also our firm just merged with another and apparently one of the new partners has recently lost a significant amount of weight and he eats so supper healthy and strict, not even cake on his birthday, that everyone is talking about eating healthier. So I'm just going to start talking about eating healthier too. And i'm buying the Nike ipod Nano and I'm going to sign up for a 5K. Since everyone in my office loves ipods that will be fun to talk about and then everyone will think that it's just the exercise. So there is no lying (well flat out lying) and I was surprised at how easy it was to get time off, even though I have taken up all my vacation time this year. Here's to no more beach pictures with a beached whale hiding under the worlds biggest beach towel and a t-shirt!:whoo:

I went into whole foods today and noticed in their vitamin dept they had a ton of different protein shakes. A lot of them came in single serving packets and since I am getting so bored of the chocolat and vanilla options I grabbed some to try. The was one, I forget the brand, i think it's Apple Valley or something, it was Apple-Cinnamon flavored and it had lots of "vegetable" and Vitamins and stuff and it was only 120 calories with water less than 1g fat and 15g protein. And let me tell you, IT WAS GROSS!! Avoid it at all costs. Not to mention I have had serious gas all night:sick. That was the worst mistake of my life, well at least the past 12 hours.:rain:

Well, here is my experience so far. It's not fun to do a liquid diet, but in the end you know the more you can shrink your liver the better it is for you, the faster you will heal, etc... That is mainly what the liquid diet is for. Your liver stores a lot of "emergency" fat and glucose. That is why when you start a diet you seem to loose 3-5 pounds really fast and then it gets harder. It's because those first few pounds in the liver are the first to go. Also it's not easy to do a liquid diet, so maybe you can ease yourself into it so if you cheat a little it's not so bad. Good luck!

Good luck! My surgery date is the 7th as well. :whoo:

I'm getting banded in NYC.

Wow, I had no idea this thread would get so much response! I am really greatful for everyone's insight. This is a weird little issue that most of us have to deal with and I am just really greatful to hear how everyone else is dealing with this personal choice in their public lives.

Well, first off, I should clarify, I work behind the camera, way behind the camera. So I'm not to worried about a tabloid fiasco. But you would be surprised at how judgemental people can be based on what kind of surgery you are getting. If i announced I was getting a nose job and botox, they would probably applaud me and have a parade on the way out. But WLS is a whole different catagory. Also, my tough part to deal with, is that I have already used up all of my vacation time this year, so I don't know how easy it would be to get time off for an "elective" surgery.

Good Point McKannan. Maybe I'll just go with the mysterious "procedure" approach. So you took off 2-3 weeks? Did you really need all of that time to recover, or was it mostly a luxery to have the time off?

I hope that I can have that kind of strenght after I have the surgery...Well, actually, I hope I can find it before the surgery. I'm still on the fence with what I'm going to tell them, but I'm seriously considering telling my boss I have to have my gallbladder removed. The recovery time is the same and that way it won't be wierd when I come back to work, and it might "explain" at least to them why I'm loosing weight afterwards. Would a little white lie be so bad? Probably, but it's my body and it's none of their business.

I'm worried that if I tell my co-workers they will become the lap-band police and watch everything I eat and comment on my progress. I just don't want the judgement.:girl_hug:

Thanks for the encouragement Juno, and great blog, I love crafts!

Looks like Sept. 7 for me if everything goes well with insurance.

Hey there folks, does anyone know of a good Lap-Band surgeon int he DC/MD area?

for the info. I think with my insurance I have to find a doctor in Montgomery County, but it's still good to shop around!

Wow, seems like I'm really lucky to be have found her. Thanks for all the input! I've got to get that book! Fab - Congrats on the the 3 kids, what a blessing!

I am in the process of getting approved by my insurance company for the surgery. Has anyone had Dr. Ren do their surgery? I like the idea of having a femal surgeon, what has anyone's experience with her been? She seems really great.